I first heard of Keto over 10 years ago when I was into low carb. And I was really surprised when Keto and Ketogenic diets kept popping up a few years ago again as this "new" diet.
So, let's start at the beginning.
The History of Keto
Keto has been around in various forms for around 100 years . The premise of the diet is to put your body into a mode whereby it burns more ketones for energy than the typical glucose that most of our bodies are used to burning for fuel.
This is a natural mode for your body to go into - it's a mechanism built for when we didn't have access to tons of sugar all the time.
However, in our modern times where carbohydrates are plentiful for most of us, we rarely get to activate this ketosis mechanism.
Benefits of Keto
There are a lot of benefits of a Keto diet - from more energy, curbing hunger , more stable moods, and even potentially some therapeutic benefits.
But for most people, the biggest benefit is weight-loss.
However, the exact reason why Keto is so great for weight-loss is still debated.
Some proponents say that the higher ketone levels in our blood means we're burning more fat (as ketones are produced from the breakdown of fats). Others suggest that eating lower carbs and higher fats naturally make us less hungry and subject to cravings.
Whatever the exact reason, it seems clear that a lot of people have benefitted from losing weight on Keto.
So what exactly is the Keto diet?
...all with the aim of changing your body's metabolism to burn more fat.
If you're used to eating a Paleo diet already, then just remove the sweet potatoes, honey, sugary fruits like bananas from your daily meals and add in a bit more green leafy vegetables and healthy fats.
You can check out our huge list of Keto recipes here if you want to see what sorts of meals are involved.
How to get started on Keto
Keto can see confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes much easier.
Here are 3 steps to help you get started if you want to give Keto a try:
- Get rid of high-carb foods from your pantry and fridge. These will tempt you during the first few weeks when you're transitioning to Keto and possibly suffering from the effects of the Keto flu.
- Make a plan for what to eat for the first 1 to 2 weeks to help you get accustomed to Keto. You can check out our 3-2-1 Keto Meal Plans if you need help.
- Start during a non-stressful week as the first week is always tougher. If you can, get your family or friends on board with starting with you as having community support can really help you to keep going when you have a bad day.
A few parting thoughts on Keto...
A lot of people think of Keto as a crash diet to lose weight where you deprive yourself of desserts. However, the fact is that you can do Keto is a very healthy way.
Keto is a fantastic tool to help reset your body's fat burning mechanisms, but it's not for everyone all the time.
Use Keto when you want to optimize your already healthy diet as well as boost your weight loss or mental focus and energy. But don't get stuck thinking Keto is a magic pill or something to stress yourself out about.
As Kyle insightfully pointed out , "When it comes to your health be flexible and adapt, make it a priority, work on it and be open to everything. Your truth and your journey is unique to you."
If you need more help on Keto
I, and the rest of The Keto Summit team, are here to help you. One of the main issues people face on Keto is what to eat as it's different to what you might have been eating in the past.
That's why we've created the 3-2-1 Keto Meal Plans to help you get into the Keto diet without having to count carbs or worry about whether a dish is Keto or not. If you want to check it out, go here and use the discount code 2020 to save 20%.
Please let me know if you have any questions that weren't covered here and thanks to Louise for covering the keto diet for me.Thanks for reading, have a great day!
